Lost what you had
by Olive nerd
Summary: This is pretty much a parody centered around BLT with some Disney OC characters based off of characters from other Disney movies. Changes are made, and the story's rated T just in case. Toaster and friends have another wish to settle; becoming more than what they are. But when it's granted, will it be too much, and how will they change back? Pairings mentioned
1. Chapter 1

Lost what you had

**My habit of writing spontaneously is completely agonizing! Anyway, please enjoy this joyous little crossover parody I made up about Disney's 'The Brave Little Toaster, which I do not own.' Here are a few alterations I've made just because my point of view on the tale is not exactly conventional: 1. 'Toaster' is a girl, and a few OCs will be added just to level out the minimum character gender equality. If this offends anyone, do forgive me. 2. This is an AU, meaning that it's a somewhat alternate universe, and the sequels featured have never happened. All that has happened in this fanfic is that the appliances lived through the first film. 3. OC characters based off of other Disney movie characters will also be featured. Disney's 'The Princess and Frog,' 'Tangled,' and 'Aladdin' are the movies which I'll use and never own. And finally 4. The appliances won't always be appliances at some points. Thank you, and enjoy!**

(First story: Toaster)

We made it. We had actually survived and reached our master without terminating ourselves permanently. Sure, scratches were earned and whatnot, but that was absolutely no biggie! As long as the Master was happy, we all were happy and ready to please him.

The messy adventure was rough, excruciating, and surprisingly frightening, but I couldn't help but think optimistically under my Master's sky blue eyes. We've had our trials and tribulations, but I knew that my friends and I agreed that it was all worth it. We made it, and we were meant to stay.

But consider this, hypothetically. Consider that five naive little appliances still continued to dream in their Master's welcoming cabin even when pampered. Consider that they had briefly wondered for more adventure, more tasks to complete more goals to reached, and craved it. They craved it almost greedily all because the biggest fool of the pack had led them to their unavoidable ends.

Well stranger, I think you've uncovered the real reasons of my confession. Let's just start on the day before the chaos, before that lethal idea even popped into my head….when the Master and Mistress were going out…

"C'mon Rob!" I caught the Mistress rummaging through her closet, eyeing the racks of human clothes carefully with big brown eyes. Her hair was slightly frizzy, but who was I to judge a human's preferences? "Gingy and Lauren Buffy are waiting for us! Did you call the double-dater like I insisted?"

The Master finally descended from the staircase and fiddled with his favorite forrest green and yellow stripped tie from the seventh grade carnival. "Yeah. Just give me a few minutes to find my wallet and keys-"

"You're not wearing that trashy tie, are you?" I couldn't help but grimace as she ripped the accessory off of him, finding my Mistress' mood far too sour for a simple date.

Then again, were all dates this terrible? What was a date?

"But Chris-"

"Don't beg," she scolded, while applying a light swift of deep magenta lipstick on her lips and smacking them audibly. Giving the Master a light shove and wink, she hurried to the front door while giggling. "Don't pretend like your best buddy Alan hasn't done this! He'll be fine, and I just know for sure that he and Lauren Buffy were meant to be with each other!"

The Master chuckled warmly while walking aimlessly in my direction. Adjusting my plug-in cord's position, he gave my reflection a fatherly smile and patted it. "We went far, old Toaster. Just you and me. Wow…" Scratching his head, he gave me a kind smile and reddened cheeks. "I don't know how long it's going to be until that big day with Chris, you know what I mean?" I did know, more than he knew. Proposing to a human female was apparently no laughing matter and it promised a lot more than just a plain friendship.

But as the Master drew his attention back to his own pensive thoughts, a rather bothersome question struck me hard. 'How am I able to comprehend how the Master feels about the Mistress? Is there relationship just like the bonds between Blanky and I? Radio, Kirby, Lampy and I? Or were they all diverse?' It was all too perplexing, and I don't know how humans dealt with it. I almost lost my numb stance when the Mistress hollered outside.

"Who do you think Gingy's met from Community College, Rob?"

"Let's hope not another jerk, " He mumbled to himself, while rubbing his forehead. "Heh…the girl of my dreams has control of me, friend." But after glancing at the silver reflection I had to offer, his smile widened and lifted my spirits. "Thanks Toaster! I don't need to let my guard done just for someone I may even love. I'll be my own person tonight!" And with that, my Master soon dashed outside to his Mistress, and the vehicle's headlights blinked before disappearing out before the evening's roads and highways.

"And there goes the heartbreaker," Radio announced beside me, allowing his antenna to cock back and forth rhythmically. I rolled my eyes and felt Blanky perch himself beside me. Because I was so tired from the Mistress' late night phone calls interrupting sleep hours, I found myself unintentionally leaning into Blanky's soft,golden blanket.

"You look really down in the sack, Toaster!" Lampy then hopped to us with glowing hazel eyes scanning me with obvious concern. "What happened?"

"The phone calls," I moaned, while allowing Blanky to help me back up. Giving my friends a lopsided smile, I braced myself and jumped to the next drawer a good six inches away. "Give me a holler, but I'm hitting the sack."

"Good night then Toaster," Lampy called happily. "Maybe when the Master gets home, he won't hesitate to leave us here in the living room instead of in the closet again with all of those awful spiderwebs!"

Giggling to myself, I imagined Lampy's horrified face from Kirby's last cobweb prank when we all were confined into the closet for two full weeks not too long ago. "I guess it's a possibility, Lampy."

"Be careful," Blanky's gentle voice warned me. "My blanket's trembling again."

"You always tremble," Kirby pointed out from below us with an unamused frown. "Don't get yourself spooked already just because it's almost Halloween-"

_"-What ignorant souls wish to achieve is to ignore the cries of what to believe," _Radio cried hauntingly, earning a squeal from Blanky and a signature eye roll from Lampy.

"Whatever, Radio. Let's just follow Toaster's example and shut some ideas up. Halloween is basically an excuse for spooks anyway."

"_Those with plans still have chills; those who do not will have the greatest climaxes and shrills!" _

"Cut it out Radio," I snapped a little too irritably. It wasn't my friend's words that sent shivers down my back; it was the tone. It was completely icy, nefarious, like it was able to damage my duties with one pail of freezing water.

"Ah it's just a joke," Radio commented defensively. Nevertheless, I was too exhausted to argue and decided to ignore him until morning. For right now, a pleasant sleep was my own cure.

(Third Story: At the diner)

Adjusting his glasses, Rob felt like a new man that night surrounded by new, ecstatic faces. The diner may have been located on rural outskirts, but his girlfriend Chris was unambiguously right. The place was full of fun and groovy people. Chris's friend Lauren Buffy was a sunny aristocrat visiting her older cousin, Gingy, and Gingy was also well-involved with Chris. Both women were attractive, sunny, and able to tackle on three platters of chicken and dumplings that night. Rob liked Chris' friends already; he just hoped that Al did, too.

"Oh my goodness gracious," Lauren hiccuped happily, grasping Chris's hands with her long, perfectly manicured ones. "Dinner was phenomenal! Are you two lovebirds gonna save your bellies for more tales back in college and for some Boston cream pie?"

With a disappointed frown, Chris eyed the clock behind them and shrugged indifferently. "Rob's friend was supposed to meet you both three hours ago. I just wonder where he is…"

"I don't know Chris! Al's a little insecure at times, but he's also very brave when it comes to meeting new faces…." Suddenly, everyone in the diner froze tensely as two figures approached the door. The _ding _was heard, and then a smirk, and then one word; "Evening."

All children held their breath at the sly looking man before them. Wild dark red hairs sprouted from under his massive plum top hat, and his complexion was dark enough for daylight but seemed to pale as the sky grew darker. But what made Lauren gulp and Gingy smirk charmingly were the eyes; they were practically ovals of a neutral grey-violet vortex, ready to suck in almost anyone, almost anything in his path…

"You and Jeff are scaring people, Frank!" Scowling at Gingy, Frank directed his approach to Gingy and twirled a lock of her blue-black hair around his long fingers.

"Fancy seeing you…again." Giving Rob an intense stare, he reached for Rob's hands and managed to cup them calmly. "Are you a troubled soul, friend?"

"What's your friend doing Gingy," Lauren whispered hesitantly to Gingy. The dark-haired woman only stared haughtily in the spoon reflecting her lovely but grim features.

"He's just interested in a new approach, darling. You see, voodoo is what makes beauty less painful."

Rob gulped audibly and sent a glance to Chris and then Ginger and then Frank. "Voodoo? Isn't that a little too far-fetching here? Where are you from?"

"Easy, partner." Jeff pecked Ginger's cheeks, and the blue-black haired woman swooned under her plump boyfriend. "My name's Jeff, and Frank heres just using a stalking tone to lure in customers and whatnot-"

"But it's a sheer offer," Ginger interrupted, while elbowing her boyfriend in the ribs. "In fact, he can call you."

And as if on cue, the voodoo employer whooshed his silvery card into Rob's hands and gave him a charismatic wink. "Stay on ice, Robby. And call if you need my assistance. I got buddies like you do…" He excused himself to use the restroom, and with a wave of his forefingers, an invisible hiss slithered into Ginger's ear.

_"We have a date at redhead's place."_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rob decided to persuade Chris, her lady friends, and Jeff for some extra boston cream pie, just so Alan was able to make it before closing hour. The redhead had been best friends with Alan since they were sucking thumbs and whining over reflective appliances, but that didn't mean that his friend's spontaneous outlook of life was agreeable. Up until now, the boy pick pocketed people for a living and purposely wore the nastiest overalls and the dirtiest socks because he believed it 'stood for freedom.' But to Rob, it only stood for lousy hobos desiring to be dunked in the school garbage bins.

"So Robby sugar plum," Lauren chirped, while nibbling on the crumply piece of pie she shared with Chris. "You didn't get any dessert, honey!" She pursed her puffy, cherry lips and sent Rob a mischievous wink. "Aw, Chris! I wish I had a boy as sensitive as yours! He's worried about Al!"

"I suppose he should be," Chris whispered dryly, while adverting her gaze from her boyfriend and trying to shield her disappointed frown with some more pie.

Rob glanced at her nervously and allowed his glasses to fog ever so slightly in embarrassment. It wasn't his plan to disappoint Chris, and she seemed lively about it not three hours ago. But how was Rob able to nail his schedule into Alan's mind? He only wished that he'd had warned Chris a bit more before….

"Well forgive me for seeming impatient-" Ginger abruptly stood from her seat and placed a fifty dollar bill near Rob's corner of the circular table. "But I have a WHOLE LOT of paperwork to tackle because my new boss is from Tartarus!" Kissing Jeff's apish nose, the young woman gracefully exited the diner and allowed her blood red strap dress to sag ever so slightly and reveal her pale shoulders. And as she exited before Lauren or Chris could've objected, in strolled a handsome and familiar man dressed in a formally dashing tuxedo.

"How CUTE," Lauren squealed, while checking herself out in her dessert spoon before Alan approached the table. Giving her hot pink skirt one last ruffle, Lauren smirked and held her well-tanned hands out to the confused man. "Nice to meet such a fine fellow such as you!" Her honeyed Southern voice rang in his ears almost obnoxiously, but her voice reminded him a lot of someone he used to treasure.

"Uh-A-Alan," Alan stuttered, eyeing Ginger's leftover dessert spoon to see if he needed any fixer uppers in his appearance. Alan had chocolate eyes, dark, dark brown hair, and olive tan skin. Many have considered him struck with good luck, yet Alan and Rob never payed attention to their looks as much as the rest of their revolving world seemed to.

Rob gave his best friend a welcoming pat on the back. "Good to see you, Alan! And shoot! You finally got the trim I suggested. It looks awesome!"

His friend mockingly flipped his head to the left, giving his hair a shiny effect. "And look who's finally got the girl out of us two posers?" He politely shook a grinning Chris' hand and winked encouragingly at Rob. "She's a looker, Robby! And to think that back in high school, polls predicted that I was the jock ready to grab a girl. Look's like your first base has been slammed!"

"Alan," Rob whined childishly, sending his best friend a pensively rough glare. "Mind your manners. We've only been together for a few months."

"Oh now sweetie don't look so modest!" Chris pecked her boyfriend's freckled cheek and enjoyed watching him blush tomato red. "If anyone's a looker here, it's you. So Al." She directed her big brown eyes back to the slouching man. "You seem to be flying solo. I'm just curious…How's that working out for you? You seem too much of a looker yourself to not be noticed."

Alan sheepishly scratched the back of his head and shrugged, caught off guard. "Well….not many girls have came to me yet…But as I was walking…." The poor lad began to blush crimson and scoot his chair a quarter. "There's this girl…She sings…sings in an isolated motel that seems empty. I try to call out to her, but she doesn't' seem to hear me."

"Are you sure you're just not hearing things old Al," Rob wondered, now completely concerned for his friend. "We discussed schizophrenia in the third grade when you swore that Lola Swells kissed Parker Denim in the third grade, and we both know that the guy made PigPen look blessed in the hygiene sense-"

"I'm serious," Alan snapped, earning some stares from the neighboring tables. Lauren could only pat his shoulders and smile sweetly at him.

"We believe yah, Alan! Now cheer up and say hello to Jeff."

"Who's-"

"Oh my goodness GRACIOUS!" She, Chris, and Rob's eyes widened in shock. "H-He was just here….Strange…Heheh…maybe he's in the restroom stalls or something! You two lovebirds need to finish that pie slice before I help out!"

_On the back porch of Rob's cabin…_

two lean figures could only scowl indifferently in the shadows.

"He's late," Frank hissed, while boggling his catlike eyes at his Beetlejuice pocket watch. "And to think that he'd had caught on with the phrase 'by eight', and now it's bloody 9:15!"

"Well maybe if you'd had let us storm out of that stupid diner together," Ginger insisted, while clawing her fingers into the thin hem of her dress. Frank only rolled his eyes from behind her and resumed to his stressful pace. "What'd you even ask him to get?"

"The prop-"

"The toad," Ginger asked dully, while staring out at the vacant roads near them. "Why must we look over another pitiful soul's own constant environment? That twerp didn't even seem like he had a well-rounded life but only a bad case of naivety."

"And those are the best paying customers," Frank added in his charismatic sing-song voice. "Besides, he may thank us in the next life."

"Really?" Ginger gave her partner a malevolent smirk and slinked closer to the cabin. "Because frankly, Frank, no one's ever thanked us yet."

"No one said that thanking was apart of the contract, flower." Jeff diverged away from the shadows and held out the twitchy toad in his thin, leather-gloved hands. Stroking his beard, Jeff withdrew the toad to Frank while pensively frowning. "The boy…he seems naive enough. His girlfriend also seems too busy to even notice the…changes we may soon make. But the boy, Alex, Akin, whatever the brat's name was…." Jeff flashed a frown in his girlfriend's direction. "He could spell out our downfall if we don't keep peeled eyes on him."

"You said that about the Hatter in the Victorian era," Frank pointed out, while making sure that this was the right place.

"And the hippy blowing smoke rings," Ginger added. Turning her attention back to Frank, she sighed a little too wearily. "Listen straight shooter, I may have lied about my 'job,' but I still have a job to my daughter back at home. So get on with the seance or whatever because I'm still lost."

"How is Button-nose," Jeff asked amusingly to Ginger. Ginger only sighed and massaged the sides of her pale shoulders.

"It's rough raising her up there….Maybe I can make it easier with a camera to watch over her-"

"The energy is HERE!" Frank grabbed the couple's shoulders and whisked them promptly into the tidy cabin. Frank then directed them to the messy pile of appliances lying near the kitchen counter, making sure that they were behind them and not in front of them.

"Don't you feel the currents?" Ginger and Jeff sniffed the invisible messages being sent to their shivering spines and nodded almost automatically to the Voodoo doctor. "My flesh friends, our time has come to reunite with our friends on the next side." He then purposely dropped the flimsy toad out of his calloused hands and stared interestingly at the reflective glow the kitchen lights were sending to one toaster before exiting the cabin.

(Toaster's P.O.V.)

"Did you guys hear that," Blankie trembled. His beady eyes were dangerously dilating in child-like fear, and that assured me that my poor friend earned the shivers again.

"Hear what," Lampy wondered. His hazel eyes scrutinized the kitchen, the living room to our right, and the stairway to our left. Shaking his head, Lampy shrugged at his blank findings. "You're probably just imagining things, Blankie. Oh! Here's what I do..I close my eyes and imagine a nice, big closet spider-free and-"

"_BOO!"_

_"AHHHH!" _Both Lampy and Blankie huddled close to each other until the quick impact sent both of my friends into the opened drawer beneath us. They were definitely lucky that they didn't hit the floor, but I was too upset with one spunky device that night to reveal concern.

"Quit the comical sound effects, Radio!" My brown eyes narrowed into slits until he shivered uncharacteristically. "At least save it until Halloween."

"Toaster's right," Kirby grumbled before frowning up at my two other shaking friends. "And you two; start acting more mature! Lampy, that's especially for you!"

"I-It's not MY fault," Lampy defended himself immaturely. "Radio made the noise in the first place and-"

"_Buenos amigos_," Radio sung a little too shyly. "I-well, logically speaking….that wasn't me at all. It came from the living room." We all then craned whatever necks we possessed to the hall that seemed to darken by the minute. Gulping, I pushed down my instinctive fears and leapt from the counter down to the nearest corner of our master's dresser.

"Okay gang. Then I guess we better go investigate." Everyone beside me nodded and followed my lead. We inched deeper and deeper into the living room, and Lampy was gratefully able to adjust his light to the right amount of brightness for us to see and not be blinded by.

"I wonder if the Master and Mistress will arrive here soon," Blankie commented almost wistfully. I smiled excitedly and patted his tiny head.

"Well then, he'll be in for some odd surprise! He was already nervous about his date with the Mistress-"

"SURPRISE?!" We all jumped and huddled into a squished hug with one another as one distorted figure crept before us. I could only make up his left green eye, glowing, glowing brighter than any appliance I've ever witnessed.

_"That eye…his one blue left eye…always watching me…" _Radio then flipped from his spooky interpretation and shrieked in a more shrill voice accompanied with suspense music. "_Don't shoot him Charley! Don't!"_

"Radio SHUT UP!" Kirby had finally lost his temper and groaned at the small toad before us. "What kind of…living thing are you? You're-" We all gasped at the toad. It dawned upon me that his appearance was greatly comparable to a corpse, a corpse with one dead eye, dead skin cells rotting on his webbed hands and feet, and one tiny bone necklace on his neck.

Nodding to us, the toad corpse smiled, revealing his yellowed and corroded teeth and trying to grasp my chord. "Greetings to such lovely company. I am known as the Prince of Lily Pad Terrence. But you may call me 'Paddy'."

Lampy sent Paddy a shaky smile and dipped his head politely. "Gee, fascinating….I didn't know that toads had teeth."

"They don't." My eyes widened frighteningly at his statement, and he chuckled at all of our awkward reactions. I began to notice his twig cane that he fiddled around in while hopping limply to us. His one green eye flickered to Radio, who remained as still as he was able to stay. "Wild spunky spirit I sense in you. Full of life. But be sure to not be so caught up in fun and games when you're in one, good sir!"

"Thanks," Radio muttered, unsure how to react to Paddy at first until he approached Blankie.

"Aren't you so young," Paddy cooed. To me, he just sounded like he was secretly mocking Blankie, and I couldn't help but snarl to myself at the toad's tone while all the while he was scarier than any creature I've ever witnessed.

But to my relief, Blankie didn't seem to notice. "Thank you, si-sir."

"Oh I'm no sir. But you soon will be. True there is no place like home-"

"_-And think to yourself," _Radio proclaimed in a motherly voice. "_There's no place like home. There's no place like home-"_

"Thank you very much Radio," Kirby cut short sarcastically, glaring at our guest. "Listen toad, I only get suspicious around the freakish of freaks, and you are really hopping forward to a top seat on that bench, aren't you pal?"

"Don't be rude, Kirby!" I didn't seem too fond of Paddy either, but I didn't want to let my stubborn vacuum friend to give off the wrong impression about us cabin-home appliances here in the woods. We didn't even introduce ourselves properly to Paddy nor he to us. "I apologize on his behalf-"

"-Of course you'd be the one defending such bold appliances, my lady." He planted his slippery lips on the end of my chord, and I couldn't help but grimace at his gesture. But what really started confusion was when the word only vital to my Mistress was audible from his lips.

"LADY?!" Blankie gave me wide, innocent eyes and a tiny sniffle. "You-you never told me-"

"I've had my suspicions," Lampy nodded knowingly with a small smile on his face.

"_Dude looks like a lady_," Radio sung.

"I never actually considered…" My voice trailed off in humiliation, and I could feel the stares burning on the back of my head from all of my friends. Was it just me, or was this topic far too odd…or strange, to even be considering about? I always believed that appliances didn't own the sacred titles of a 'man' or a 'woman', 'sir' or 'lady', and they were always reserved for the human masters.

"Of course you haven't," Paddy sighed exasperatedly, while picking out five tiny devices that looked like paper clips in his palms. "Your master cared more about flint than all of you put together!"

"That's pushing it," I warned. But suddenly, Paddy breathed in and out a golden mist, blowing freely into our eyes. "W-What-"

"_And so Hansel…" _I found Radio, at the corner of my eye, slouching into unconsciousness. "_-And Gretal…we're lost hopelessly in the song…"_

"Dude looks funny," Blankie giggled, before falling asleep as well. I tried to reach for him, but I couldn't feel my limbs, and my eyes never left Paddy's wicked smile.

"H-How could….Blankie…guys.."

"Wishy washy…" Lampy and a gurgling Kirby soon drifted off as well, and the last words I heard before falling into a deep slumber came from that tricking toad.

"Come and see the rest of our friends sometime, pets. That is, if you play the game fairly Master has given you."

**I used references for Radio from poet Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart', the popular thriller series 'The Twilight Zone' during the episode 'Monsters due on Maple Street,' 'The Wizard of Oz,' the song 'Dude (Looks like a lady') sung by the rock band Aerosmith, and the famous Hansel and Gretal tale. Thanks to those reading, and I really hope that this fits in well!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So, you're still continuing to pile Honey Bunches with junk tales, Chrisy?"

Chris unintentionally snapped her head at the perky blonde and whipped a bit of her chocolate brown hair out of the corner of her mouth. Lauren was definitely not a pompous young woman nor timid. But when it came to her boyfriend's abnormal attachment to old-fashioned appliances, Chris usually had it with Lauren's mouth.

"Actually, 'Honey Bunches' is planning to sell some of those appliances by next week," Chris lied with a lopsided smile. It was specifically half the truth. She had wanted to keep the discussion fresh before he was bound to rust it with his goofy charms, but Rob did have this guilty habit of naively guilting her without knowing it. Plus, Chris wasn't entirely spiteful about them nor anxious for them to hop away on their own. In fact, the blanket would be an adequate addition in future circumstances, the toaster made a decent mirror if directly under the reading lamp, and Chris had more reasons why the appliances should stay.

But with them living in the next decade, how did Rob expect Chris to keep her mouth shut about the appliances others like Lauren refer to as junk? She was beginning to call them junk more herself.

Lauren shrugged carelessly and lead the threesome to her hot pink jeep. Rummaging through her purse, the Southern Belle began having serious trouble with finding her diamond-sequenced keys which were usually sealed in her 'Kiss me I'm _Bella_' wallet.

"Oh stuffed frog legs! Where're my keys? They're genuine and expensive, Christina. Remember when I got them at them driver's booth? Daddy recommended them-"

"I know," Chris sighed dully, massaging the reachable portions of her upper and lower back, tensing from impatience and stress during the wait. "I've heard it a hundred thousand times, Lauren!"

A crafty smile flickered on Lauren's pursed, carnation pink lips. "But I bet yah Honey Bunches Robby and Alan haven't-"

"Can you just look for your keys," Chris snapped, feeling a gruesome headache creep into her skull. Strong hands suddenly but shyly massaged her shoulders, and Chris moaned pleasantly. "Thanks, Rob."

"No prob, Chris." Rob darted his eyes around the diner's vacant parking lot, finding that they were the only people out and about at that hour. "They do close quickly, don't they?"

"Maybe we were just too late of customers," Alan speculated, sending a glare to the waiters and waitresses carefully dusting off the tables and swiftly sweeping the floors. "Pitiful staff they have, if you ask me. They pushed us out like complete hooligans!"

Studying the frown Alan had failed to hide from his handsome features, Lauren plopped onto the bench beside her jeep and fiddled with a small lock of her platinum blonde hair. "That's maybe one of them crazy traditions, sugar. We we're a little on the late side, weren't we Chris?"

The dark-haired woman suddenly directed a glare in her boyfriend's direction, puzzling him quite much. "Well if somebody didn't insist on taking their precious time-"

"Let's not play the accusation game," Rob warned nervously. He hated fights of all kinds, especially with his spunk and temperamental girlfriend. "You were rushing me a bit-"

"The diner has only SO many hours open," Chris cried defensively. "Maybe if you weren't so attached to those-those-" Her face was now purely pink, and Lauren took that as a rather stormy harbinger for her friend.

"WHOA! GAIN WAY! Sugar…" Glancing from Rob to Chris and to a shrugging Alan, Lauren looped arms with Chris and stomped as far away from the two men as possible. "Let's have them onion-brained boys have their own pep talk, and we're gonna have a little one of ours, now aren't we?"

"Oh my Lord…"

Lauren whipped her head back daintily in laughter. "Aw, Christina! There's no need to be hesitant or embarrassed around your best friend! I know you from your favorite sock colors to your worst nightmares after eating cheddar cheese popcorn dipped in ranch with Halloween candy on the side-"

"Lauren-"

"Oh now hush Chrisy," Lauren warned almost strictly, allowing her cheerful face to put on a reserved frown before smiling again. "We may learn more stuff about each other along the way-"

"Lauren!"

"Okay honey doll." The lean woman waved a long, wavy finger right in front of Chris' face. "You better hush it now or no one's gonna help you and your problem with Robby-" Chris grabbed Lauren forcibly by the shoulders and whirled her in front of a huge alleyway connecting the diner parking lot and the abandoned warehouse parking lot.

"What am I looking at?"

Chris gulped before momentarily stuttering, "I-I see an arm…dangling….out-out the-there. G-G-Get Rob…NOW!"

_Ten minutes earlier…(Toaster's P.O.V.)_

I woke up under a couple of swaying light bulbs flickering from the sides of a very tiny room. They were dim, tinted, and making me squint in displeasure. The room we all were confined in was so small that the five of us occupied an entire wall, with Blanky embracing me from behind and Radio rested on top of Kirby.

"Is this even necessary," Kirby groaned, not too fond of the fact that a Radio's form was taking up over half of his vision. Lampy woke up with a start form Kirby's words and shook his head angrily.

"No, no. Is it even legal?!"

"You might want to keep it down, partner." Arising from his nap, Radio hopped by my side and tried to tap Blanky awake. "Those crooks who kidnapped us might hear us when we try to sneak out."

I waved his a antenna away from Blanky's face and made sure that Blanky wasn't stirring. "We can't wake him up, guys! It's best that he stay asleep so that he won't ride another emotional roller coaster again and make more noise for our kidnappers to hear."

"So I'm correct," Radio cheered proudly. Lampy rolled his eyes and stubbornly hopped over to my other side.

"Toaster, I still am clueless as to what's going on with you and the blanket-"

"Nothing," I insisted tiredly. What in the great world could he have meant in those little words? Did he think that I favored Blanky more than them? "I just think that since he's the youngest, you all should keep it down just like I am."

Kirby tore his eyes off the wall parallel to the one we stayed at and squinted at me. "How do you know that, Toaster? Blanky could be as old as the rest of us, and we never knew. Heck, we didn't even know that you were a mistress!"

"We only have one mistress," I reminded him, as my thoughts drifted worryingly back to the Master and the Mistress. "And she, with the Master, will be very frustrated with us if we're delayed!"

Suddenly, blinding lights flashed all over the room, until a levitating podium oddly floated down to us. Sparkly and lime-colored the podium was a glittery rectangle with Paddy smugly knitting yarn dolls on it. And as I inspected the two dolls he crafted, I felt my throat grow drier and drier.

"Are they-"

"Voodoo dolls!" Blanky hopped out of my grasp and bowed before Paddy. "Don't hurt the Master and the Mistress!"

"Blanky," I wheezed out, hurrying closer and closer to the podium. "Blanky! What are you doing? What are those dolls even for?"

"As your soft friend had so wisely mentioned," Paddy barked while catching and slurping a gigantic housefly in his slobbering lips. "They're Voodoo dolls. created to bring about certain happiness and/or certain misery in the people that they represent."

Fear wrenched out a noticeable part of my courage facade, and I inched slowly before the distorted toad in mild grief over what was to come next. "Does that mean-"

"-Your master and mistress mean nothing to you anyway," Paddy insisted in a persuasive voice. I dared myself once and now to never succumb to the negative words of others and remain faithful to my master and his mistress, but something about this toad drew me into inching closer.

"Come again?"

"Don't listen to him, Toaster!" Lampy rushed to my side and looped his electric cord over my reflective toasting surface. "He's just a fraud, and you know it! The master and mistress need us, and I may not have much kinship emotions for the blanket like you do usually, but I have the heart to-"

"Do you really believe you wishy-washy, useless devices have hearts?!" Paddy twirled his webbed, slippery fingers and toes, and five magical beams of yellow-orange light shot straight at us. And before I could yelp, they harmlessly levitated all of us right before Paddy and released us. But once the beams disappeared, Paddy's eyes glowed neon green, and a strange chant flowed evenly through his mouth.

_'To the numb earn them their cores,'_

"WHAT"S HAPPENING," Lampy shrieked femininely, as he and Radio started to dissolve before my eyes. Sweat droplets blinded my eyes, as did the slithery sheets of black magic wrapping and choking our exterior and interior gadgets.

_'Give them their flaws and their earned pores.'_

"Disengage, repeat, Disengage! I love you Dolly…" Radio's wires began to choke and tangle their selves, and I immediately panicked when I notice him slurring delusional and suicidal procedures.

"NO! Radio! Lampy!"

_'Only to weaken with delicate starts,'_

"Toaster, I can't-can't FEEL!" I turned to my left, yelping as Blanky thrashed over to my side with tears and dark green stains on his pouty face and golden blanket. I began to wrap what little arms I had around him for comfort, but he too dissolved before I could try.

"Toaster-", Kirby tried to yell to me. He too was interrupted and had dissolved just like Blanky, and I was left for the last tormenting line of Paddy's chant.

'_And show the numb their fragile hearts!'_

_In present time…_

A familiar voice urged me to wake up, and it took a few minutes before I recognized the warmness in her voice. "M-Mist-Mistress?"

"Praise to ALL!" I quickly covered my ears from the high-pitched squeal until two strong human hands lifted my pale arms up.

Wait a minute…arms?!

"Thank goodness you're stable," the Mistress smiled at men meeting my widened brown eyes. "Name's Chris…" She then noticed something wrong with my features, and I attempted to find a way out.

"S-So-"

"Do I…know you from somewhere?"

"From the Truth," Lauren snickered under her breath. I whipped my head in her direction curiously.

"What was that-" I began to stumble as soon as i inched my hands out of the girl and the Mistress', and yet quickly supported my back from falling.

"Oh you shouldn't try any of that mess, honey. I'm Lauren." She greeted me with a warm smile, and I shockingly smiling back, finding her human perfume was a fantastic scent. "So…are you actually an undercover 'The Truth' model?"

"The Truth?"

"A magazine," Chris clarified, a little taken aback that I haven't heard of whatever this 'magazine' was. "Okay…so what's your name, brunette?"

My mind was swarming with foreign nicknames a mile a minute. "Brunette?" But then, my eyes scanned the taller buildings around me until I saw myself. Only…..it wasn't anything like the real me. I had human light brown hair, bigger brown eyes, a short human height, a cotton blue tee shirt and jeans on, black sneakers, and wired bumps on my chest and arms…except the ones on arms wiggled….human fingers…

The mistress was the first to take notice of my heavy panting. "Hey, hey calm down. Is everything alright? Can we-"

I tore myself away from the girls and dashed as far away from as I could, which was horribly difficult since I didn't know how any human could transport themselves without hopping.

"Let's just find a familiar face," I told myself as calmly as possible, as I disappeared deeper into the alleyways dimly lit under a full moon.

_Elsewhere…_

"Did you hear that, Rob?"

"It's just your imagination, Alan." Rob took off his glasses, breathed over them, and adjusted them right back on his face.

But what Rob had failed to notice was that two semiconscious men were fumbling in the nearest garbage, at least they seemed like men. One was murmuring deep threats and snorting bits of his jet black hair involuntarily in his snoring mouth and scrunched up nose, and the other was childishly sucking his thumb and crying, Voodoo', in his sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_In the hidden cabin marked with frog eyes…._

"Idiot!" Frank backslapped the slobbering human, and the poorly disfigured creature could only skitter on the wooden den floors like an abused mutt. "Your orders were to carry out the transformation incantation and IMPRISON THEM!"

The small man crawled backwards as quick as he could from the approaching boss, and he foolishly held out Rob's voodoo doll in defense. "I-I would've succeeded…if I had found them at the right time-"

"You forgot the fifth rule." Frank's overpowering tone had creepily softened at that point, and he stroked the beard of his youngest shadow slave with glee. "Younger has informed me that our little 'Master and Mistress,' have found the Toaster."

"Well technically-"

"What more does your tongue WANT?!" Frank caught the tongue of the servant, literally, and stretched it out to a froggy length.

"No, not then, not now-"

"Then Shut up!" The voodoo master's slinging motion with the tongue caused Paddy's limping legs to give away, and he plopped pathetically on the ground and injured his buttocks.

"Ow…"

"Your reports about the nicknames and behavior of our toys have been….interesting." Frank slid to the den's wide, round window and peered at the trees taunting his plan with bloody-colored leaves waving at him. "But if you still desire an exemplary report AND healed legs, then I expect those five posers in this cabin tomorrow night!"

"But-"

"WHAT NOW?!" Frank then continued to abuse his creation by choking his protests out of his clammy throat. "You're MY creation and experiment! I need those five for more blood, MORE adaptations for YOU!"

After waking up from his murderous trance, Frank sighed tiredly and whispered, "You, Paddy the frog been doll, were always my friend….until you were thrown out as a real frog. And if I can get more blood with the roots of electricity and iron, my elixir will finally be complete!" He patted the smaller man by the back and gave an audacious cry. "You'll be human and accepted as my little brother….FOREVER! We'll soon be ruling ALL species!"

Paddy mirrored his master's malicious grin. That is until he realized that the term 'little brother' wasn't satisfying to his tastes. "Little brother? Really? Can we just be twins?"

Frank groaned under his breath, yet he quickly covered his tiredness with a subtle grin and fly swatter covered in black and green flies. "If you accept this present, and never pity the five we'll soon dispose of, then you can consider us twins for life."

As Paddy slurped away at his snack happily, Frank stood at the same round window, wearing his subtle grin once more. 'Idiot,' he chuckled in his mind wickedly. 'He actually thinks that he's going to mean that much to me with those five appliances with legs.'

_Back to Toaster's P.O.V.…._

I never would've imagined walking being so…relaxing. Heck, I could've walked, hopped, ran, and…what was that word for girlishly jumping one foot after the other? Oh yeah…skipping…

I did just that when I came across another alleyway. It amazed me how the small town was so full of them, and I had never even bothered to notice before. Once, this town along with others was another city of light to gaze dreamily in, but no. As a human, it seemed much more than that to me.

Neon signs flickered appealingly in the background of last minute CD shops, hair salons, and retail stores. Every human delicacy's smell flickered around my nostrils and teased me into buying a frosted doughnut or bag of buttery popcorn, even though I was well aware that I didn't have a penny to spare. Also, my tastes in how I looked seemed more…addictive to me. It was so amazing and yet so terrifying to me.

Yet all the while, I thought about what I was doing. The master and the mistress, or 'Chris' was probably worried sick about the whole, missing lot of us back in our home cabin. Throughout my fantasies, I knew I had to gather up my friends, wherever they were, and somehow convince them to beg for Paddy. We all needed to return to him, even if Paddy had placed some strange curse on us.

"How did it go again," I asked myself, suddenly flushing. Now as a human, I was more keen to these weird feelings swimming around my usually impulsive gut instincts. "Great…now I'm embarrassed when just talking to myself!"

"Toaster?" A deep, familiar voice seeped through the alley on my right, and I waved my arms at the stirring figure.

"Hey! I-I'm not afraid of you…If you're a friend…w-well.." My stuttering was starting to anger me. The original me would've never taken this long to question the mysterious friend or foe, and both me's felt completely flustered and stupid! "W-What's my favorite color?"

"You don't have one because you think they're all appeasing." He stepped out of the shadows, and my embarrassment suddenly melted into pure relief. I had finally found one of my friends…as a human. Kirby was standardly tall and skinny-looking for a human, and he had straight jet black hair and his forest green eyes. Kirby also wore a huge turtleneck sweater matching his eyes, and brown pants with matching slacks.

"Kirby!" I wrapped my arms around him, and he slowly but warmly embraced me back. Pulling away from him with a jovial grin, I latched my long palms into his beefy ones. "Let's just find Blanky, Lampy, and Radio, and return to our original forms!" Yet before I could pull him along to follow me, Kirby wrenched out of my grasp with a fatherly frown.

"Do you seriously want to get tangled in another mess with that disoriented toad, Toaster? Do you really want to put us all in danger like that again? Look at you! You're a mistress!"

"Am not!"

"Are too! And I'm not going to start a childish argument…especially with a lady. I don't like hitting…" I sighed, exhausted from his correct reasonings and my actions of spinning in circles with nothing done. Once again, the friend who could've lacked a calm temper here and there was absolutely right. i was a mistress, a mistress with foolish feelings and looks. Judging by my height, I looked no more than…a teenager.

But then again, Kirby looked around the same age. "I guess you're right…I just don't want us all to stay this way forever. It was an awesome experience after awhile-" Kirby snorted in disbelief. "-But we must return home to the master and mistress. Remember that it's our duty."

"I suppose so. Let's find the rest of the suckers." So then, our tasks were pinned and out in the open for us to accomplish. Although before we took the first step, something stirred behind Kirby.

"Kirby-"

"W-What? Who?" Another voice that took me back home lifted my mood, and a pair of the warmest hazel eyes I've ever encountered met mine.

"Blanky!" I almost unleashed what Lampy referred to as a squeal and locked hands with my friend. His voice changed, almost as if it had been lowered. He sounded much older, and he had white blonde hair and redly-tint cheeks.

"Thank goodness you're okay, too! Are you feeling okay?"

Blanky pouted for a few moments, and for a minute, I thought that he'd burst into tears from fear. But what happened next startled and angered me. Blanky threw himself into my arms and cackled like it was the last time he'd ever be able to.

I could only help him stand up and lightly slap his forehead to get his attention. "Now you listen!" I brought my nose against his, feeling his face flush for a reason I was unable to figure out. "You're human now, meaning that the master and mistress will find us in minutes if we don't find Paddy and convince him, maybe even beg to him, to change us back!"

Blanky looked down at his naked feet, desperate for another option. "But-But- He's c-cree-creepy!"

I almost relented from his saddening pout. I'll never be able to wipe the guilt from that pout I have caused. Blanky was so innocent, and so young all the while. I wasn't ready to tell any of the others yet, but I wanted him to return to the master before any of us. 'I just pity him,' I concluded.

"Too bad, Blanky. We need to go back. You love the master and mistress as much as I do, don't you?" He looped his arms around my shoulders and gave me a grin that blurred my thoughts from before.

"Of course I do." My burning cheeks now resembled his, and I was beyond frustrated with myself. When we were appliances, Blanky would always offer me a hug or an arm or shoulder to lean on. Now, it was rather uncomfortable and awkward with even arms on my shoulders, and I felt so tragically stupid over nothing.

"You-you care." I turned my attention away from Blanky to stare at Kirby. "Don't you, Kirby?"

The towering teen only continued to stare at us intriguingly until I grew impatient and repeated his name. "Huh? Huh? Oh…yes of course, Toaster….Blanky."

_In the back of the same alley…._

Jeff knew from the start that Frank's idea was successful, but he also theorized that subordinate 'bumps' on the road would be almost impossible not to ignore. And as a Voodoo assistant, Jeff could also not ignore the irritating pricks growing in his veins and skull. The shadow children were at their antics of making him suffer for procrastination once more, and Jeff had been having to deal with it since shadow children invented incantations. He knew that blood was in order, iron blood from the simpletons.

"Master will not be so pleased with your follies, my two fickle friends." Silvery orbs circled around his scarlet red robes and landed in his snaky hands. Cracking his neck bones and flipping strands of his dark brown hair to the sides of his neck, Jeff kept his dark brown eyes into slits and on the three silhouettes, examining their emotional flaws with a snicker.

"So you believe that you'll go back to Paddy the worthless?" Jeff restrained his laughter and gathered the tails of two nearby shadow children. "We'll see about that! Perseus, Andromeda, make Daddy proud."

As he released the murky spirits, Jeff swirled his cobra scepter and dissolved into thin air. The shadow children, meanwhile, slithered to the three figures before them with mischievous giggling erupting their throats.

"Let's just get the others," Toaster decided. But before she was able to take one step, something icy cold and metallic was jabbed into her left cheek and smoke rings slinked around her face.

"Show me the money, toots! Or big bro's gonna give it to your soft friend over there!" The crook was a midgets height, but held a series of threatening weapons ranging from a swinging hammer to a portable machine gun. The buddy he spoke of aimed his pistol at Blanky, and Toaster glared.

"What have you done with Kirby?"

"He just wants the green as much as a I do, toots. Now give it!" During their rants, Kirby's eyes glowed evilly in a baby blue hue, inflicted by the wishy-washy spirit inside of him.

What no one had noticed was the chilling laughter from a floating spirit witnessing the scenario in glee. _"Oh Jeff, this is gonna be splendid! Keep up the good work!"_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Blanky's P.O.V._

I've never been a gigantic fan of those western cartoons the rest of the gang was associated with. Yet, it was difficult to not have the same warm memories branded in a blanket's mind. With Radio humming a classic melody and mimicking the gunshots and yelling, Lampy subconsciously flickering his lamplights in a startling format, Kirby grumbling angrily behind the couch and wishing that it was his turn to hog the remote and not Radio's, Toaster smirking while whispering remarks to the bowl of popcorn, and me shivering under the couch.

Don't get me wrong; the thrill of each chase was exciting for me. It was the thrill of the kill that gave me nightmares and Radio, Lampy, and Kirby look down on me for my childish phobias. Only Toaster knew how to approach me during my trembling spasms, and she was the only toaster I knew who'd stretch through the scariest cobwebs in attics for me.

Now wasn't our cup of tea. The two crooks still held the gun to Toaster's head threateningly, and I was blinded by its glimmer and their ambitions. But before I could beseech her release, Kirby snaked his huge hands on my scrawny shoulders and head butted me on the chilling cement, and the tip of my scalp and corner of my lips were bleeding heavily.

"Red looks great on you," Kirby sarcastically drawled, giving me a rough kick on my left thigh and returning his attention to the two crooks. "So what's the occasion? Shoot or no shoot? Jabbing or no jabbing-"

"Quiet!" The crook with the highest-pitched voice patted Kirby's shoulder, and to our disbelief, he was knocked out. I cowardly winced as I faintly heard the audible _crack_ coming from my brave friend and mustered up a frown.

I certainly did not want any more of my friends ending up in a similar position as Kirby already was in, especially Toaster. But from the looks of the scenario from a coward's eye view, the higher-pitched criminal was now smearing one of his feet onto my back, weakening my muscles and notions. Toaster was still struggling from behind us.

"I don't have anything you two could ever want," Toaster blurted out carelessly, settling her gaze on me. I knew she loathed seeing me struggle more than her, but the crook's humongous foot could fit a toddler on it, and I was beginning to feel nauseated from the cracks coming from my upper back muscles.

"One more slam of that back and-" The crook grinned mercilessly and raised his foot one last time. I took a careful note of his jet black spiked boot then closed my eyes, not expecting Kirby to rise from unconsciousness and head butt both crooks.

One he did, I quickly took ahold on Toaster and examined her state. She was as shaky as I was, those luckily, her brown eyes remained lit up with sincerity and calmness. "I'm sorry-"

"No." I held my hand over her face, while glancing at Kirby, who was holding back the crooks. "We should get out of here….but let me first say that if this whole mess was anyone's fault-"

"Scram you idiots!" Kirby's left arm was now wrapped around crook one's long neck, and his ankles were holding back the tiny feet of crook two. "Even though I'm stronger than these wimps will ever be, you two should go find Lampy and Radio!"

"You'll never find them before the ceremony," crook one choked in his shrilling voice with a demented smile. "Not at this rate. By now, you're all shuffled in the mote and will belong to the master of all wizardry!"

"Yeah and I'm actually pitying you." Combing insult to injury, Kirby dunked his fist on top of the obnoxious crook's head and watched him shimmer into unconsciousness. Just as the second crook broke free, Kirby motioned for Toaster to kick him near his legs, but she accidentally kicked in-between his legs. Impressively, however, the crook gawked in astonishment before falling hard after receiving her fierce kick.

"Whoops," Toaster squeaked, shrugging to the two of us. "Do you two have any idea-"

"Not any idea important," Kirby interrupted with haste. "We have no time for this! Blanky- go right! Toaster and I will take the left roads-"

"Wait! Hold on." Pursing her lips, Toaster leaned into Kirby's right ear and eagerly whispered something to him. Nodding attentively with an amused expression on his face, Kirby stroked his developing black mustache upon his upper lip and murmured, "Toaster and Blanky will then take the right roads, and I'll take the left." He paused a moment before emphasis, and I suspiciously eyes on Toaster. "Alone!"

_The next morning in a faraway motel…_

Not too far from the craziness the human-edition of applications, massive dove flocks cooed above Hardy Avenue. Abandoned and collected dust, the motel on Hardy Avenue was humbly situated between one gas station with limited individual stations and a gift shop with moderate business on the road. Its two-stories were carefully lit with cheap, flickering, mustard yellow bulbs, giving every balcony a faint glow. To the simple traveler, the balconies overlooking the bustling street and periwinkle skies was as picturesque as any delicate picture. To the pampered customer, the balcony only gave a laughable stretch on the motel's bill.

But to one young woman, her whole life was a piece of that balcony. She could tell someone the length, width, height, depth, distance, and history of the balconies, the receptionist desks, the lobby furniture, the elevators, the bathrooms, and emergency stairwell. Also, she wasn't just an expert on the motel's furniture, but she counted and cleaned every stain visible, dish broken, blanket torn, and sink scum and noted them for future observations. What frightened the woman herself was the day she was able to name everything on every square inch of her home and prison.

'Prison' was a possible exaggeration on her part, but Hazel was in one of her foulest moods that morning as she balanced lazily on the down left pole of her bed lazily. She mentally listed her troubles after rising from her dreamy sleep; her brunette mess of hair was a braided mess and her mother was probably going to fuss at her…again, she had a dream about receiving a special letter to her and woke up to mail-less reality…again, and Kiddo, her pet rock, was missing….again.

"Another day, another cycle." Blowing strands of her hair off of her forehead, Hazel hopped off the pole and cartwheeled to her vanity mirror. Even with her quirks, her mother acknowledged Hazel's aesthetic concerns and moved her room up four floors, so that she'd be able to gaze higher upstairs and have access to her reflection without stealing time from the motel's only bathroom.

Pushing open the sliding door and gazing down to the motel's lawn, Hazel smirked ironically. How her mother was able to make pennies for a motel without a customer, (aside from her of course,) was beyond Hazel's comprehension. After all ever since her mother scolded her pleas for a driving lesson, Hazel became part daughter-part motel scrutinizer at sixteen. She scanned images of the finest hotels and motels in the entire country with fountain pools, clipped shrubs, and even neighboring beaches and five-star restaurants.

Now at going on twenty, Hazel ideally kept the notion of motel fixings in mind. She wasn't about to blurt out her mother's mistakes, but Hazel figured that in a couple of years, (maybe after another decade,) her mother would see reason. Besides, what benefits lied behind keeping a twenty-year old rebellious daughter who'd only make a greater mess for business?

"She knows I wouldn't try," Hazel whimpered, pouting at her habit of talking to herself. The poor woman was more of an actual minor than adult, for being noticeably shy, timid, and gullible around her mother. But behind her quirks was a golden heart, and Hazel had theorized, (from the books on adolescent development, friendship, and oral communications,) people adored people who had gained a slice of humbleness. Maybe with that one positive quality she could outshine her negative qualities against her mother's past shoves and actually be able to venture outside of the motel always and only for her.

"Time for breakfast!" With a swish rub on the ornate carpets beneath her snug, silver socks keeping her tiny feet warm, Hazel jumped to the elevator on her level, pressed the button motioning downward, and rushed to it. Just as the elevator doors closed up, Hazel subtly smiled at the brief consideration of her forgetfulness. "Stairs are for girls without tongues. Today is the day when I prove to Mom I'm not going to be kicked around in one home!"

_Nearby…_

Lauren's snores rose Chris from her sleep, and the dark brunette yawned and scratched the small of her back. The late night hit her square in the forehead, and she would've rather drank red wine that night. At least with a slight hangover was familiar to Chris.

But the dilemma she was in was strange and irrelevant. The woman she and Lauren gave helping hands to last night was not only puzzling, but Chris had the vague feeling her ignorance to the matter was costly, and that worsened Chris's mood.

Blinking her sepia brown eyes and shading them against the rising sunrise with the back of her left hand, Chris pushed herself up with her right hand and shook Lauren up. "We slept in another dark alley, Laurie. Remember the Brook Book story?"

The blonde-haired woman stirred from her sleep and karate chopped the air. "Come at me, sicko!"

"I had the impression you'd remember that memory back in grade school." Chris bit back a grin, yet remembered the seriousness of the incident. Brook Cunningham was an outcast in high school, and even Lauren had little tolerance for her arrogant attitude towards others. Rumors rose about her being dumped thrice in three months, and her father leaving the Cunningham family with six mouths to feed after looking at the newborn Brook.

Even if those rumors were true, they never came close to the incident right before summer release, when Brook was taken as hostage by three serial killers and murdered after two weeks. Both Lauren and Chris remembered the poster hung up in the front office, the news updates, the sobbing passers…Both women weren't naive at all to the dangers in an alley. Needless to say, an alley was where Brook was an that gory, horrific night.

Straining her thoughts back to Rob, Chris searched for her purse, found it beside a trash bin, and picked out enough change for pay phones. "Let's go look for a pay phone. Rob's probably gone back to the cabin-"

"What about me," Lauren whined. "Honey I'm one of those survivors, you and I both know that, but these heels were reserved from this diner and have already received scrapes! So if you'd ever be so generous and tell me you're not going to risk fifty cents on a cheap call for your boyfriend and his pal when they're likely to still be here!"

Shaking her head at Lauren, Chris playfully wiggled a quarter in front of her dimples and eyes. "First of all, it's twenty-five cents per call on this street. Second, you're too much of a chucklehead to assume we're just going to abandon you in those serial killer alleys."

"Christina! You know I'm sensitive about that-" A rustling sound was audible underneath the trash bin beside the ladies, and the square scalp of a redhead popped up. Panicking, Lauren took off and rose her sequenced left heel above her head, ready to knock the odd man out. Chris gingerly took the shoe from her reacting friend's shaky fingers and used it to poke his scalp. Stuttering jazzy tunes, the short man skittered out of the bin and stared at Chris and Lauren with dilated pupils.

"Gosh mister," Lauren spoke calmly but carefully. "You sure got tangled in that debris, eh?"

"I better find my team," the man mumbled, before Chris reached out and touched his left elbow. The hairs of his neck and arms rose, and Chris took a note of his vulnerable expression.

"What do you mean by 'team,' sir? Do we know you or any of them somewhere?"

_In the cabin with frog eyes…_

Frank was sipping a saucer of fresh herbal tea when Jeff knocked and entered the cabin swiftly. The voodoo master gave his assistant wiggling eyebrows and an eager smile. "Well? Have any of those appliances learned the meaning of the tern, 'white flag?'"

Jeff's eyes met his scepter as he grinned wickedly. "A couple of shadows are dealing with three of the five as we speak."

"You must understand when I say 'all.' Good work for now, Jeff. That's one better than the last attempt…" But before Frank could exit, Jeff whistled to get his attention and earned it with a scowl. "What now?"

"I'm guessing it's Ginger you seek." After Frank nodded to him, Jeff bit the insides of his cheeks and pointed out, "she's with her daughter on this type of day. Those sunny, wasteful ones…"

"Then build me a bridge because I could care less! Just fetch the others, Jeff, before that deadline emerges at our thin feet!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Hi everybody! I know it's been a while since I've updated this fanfic, and I hope this next chapter covers some unanswered questions. R and R once more!**

Toaster's P.O.V.

When we lost track of our master and mistress' whereabouts, I was officially branded as the leader for a reluctant and temporary mission beyond comfort zones. And no matter what Lampy or even Kirby had to say about it, we made it to them and started our brand new lives in contentment.

Now, judging Blanky's hold on my left arm, I knew I was playing the same old role once again. That is, if Lampy and Radio are alright and safe from any other dangers. Something about those crooks back there spelled immediate assistance, but I had no idea who to go to. Even if I did, what good would it do?

"_Pardon me, sir…we've just been transformed into humans and we we're once active appliances in our master and mistress' home by a croaking frog. Is there anything you can do for us?" _I may be considered obnoxious by some of my fellow friends and neighbors, (one who plagues me today who's rage resulted in a steamy blowout,) but I'm not that naive. Any of those humans minding his or her own lives wouldn't give us a second glance for such a ridiculous excuse. The whole dilemma was supernatural, and I barely believed the exchange between Paddy and us myself.

"Look Toaster!" Blanky's hands gripped each other in glee and he released my arm. My back muscles relaxed in relief, and my legs stopped shaking. What would it take to slice my love and hate from the grip of a good friend? He meant well, and I was absolutely sure of that. Although, I feared for his life and mine.

"It's Radio….with some girls…."

"What are the odds of that," Kirby snickered from behind us. I gave him my most irritated expression, yet he could only shrug his shoulders and step toward Radio. "Hey R-" My hands made contact with his mouth in a desperate attempt to seal our identities.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"What's eating you?" His eyes rested on my hands, and I quickly pulled away with a squeak. Needless to say, Kirby was still the most intimidating friend of the group, even when reduced to the age of a human…whatever age we all seemed to be.

"You know I'm doing what's best for the group and those girls could help us." The vacuum proved his level of experience once again, and I stubbornly sighed at our full predicament.

"Fine just don't mention our appliance names," I pleaded with my hands clasped. It was rather interesting, mimicking the movements my master made at breakfast hour once upon a time.

"So these are your buddies?" My eyes widened and I shivered uncontrollably as two familiar faces came into full view in front of the short man who was supposedly Radio. They seemed to recognize me as well and awkwardly grinned at the guys and I.

"We were just talking about you and your…team," the girl with curly blonde hair- Lauren it was- patted Radio's back in a friendly gesture. "He's been struck scared and we told him we met someone who met his descriptions." Beside Lauren, the short man gave us a sheepish smile, and I wished for a moment that darn radio's antennae tracked down the meaning of the word 'secrecy.'

On Radio's other side, Chris remained as silent as stone. I guess silence was the best option for a mistress without her master and having to deal with four-no five new faces. And on that note, even with Lampy missing in this scene, Radio might've not been the Radio we were hoping for. Judging by his demeanor and twitchy ears, a wave of recognition was far from passive. And even if the traits didn't seem to click, something inside pulsed smoothly and told me this guy was Radio. Yet on a less forbidden, more sensible side of my thoughts, I was informed this man was not Radio at all and I should remain more cautious like Kirby.

My eyes seemed to reach the back of my mind, and my ears managed to stop working for a moment of thoughtless bliss. And as I felt my legs slip into the loss of self control, I heard my master's voice and reddish hair sweep my vision.

Lampy's P.O.V.

_"Stairs are for girls without tongues. Today is the day when I prove to Mom I'm not going to be kicked around in one home!"_

"My head…." It felt as painful as having your bright lightbulb crushed right in front of your face. Believe me, no lamp would desire to experience something as unambiguously painful as that. Pain is in the appliance's eyes at the same exact level as beauty, in the eye of the beholder.

Speaking of beauty and pain merged in one's eyes, a flash of radiant brown drifted past me, and I had no choice but to cower. She could've been prancing around as a witch out for…light bulbs.

My phobias are definitely not questionable to my sanity, and Kirby only says such hateful things because he has never known what it's like to be a sensitive reading lamp. Besides, on the days when Radio refers to me as a 'drama queen,' I am fully aware and prepared to face the fact I'm living with posing appliances with their own flaws.

Yet even an understandable lamp such as I would realize we're all closer together now than we've ever been after finding our master and mistress. Kirby's not as short-tempered, Radio's minding his antics, Blanky's acting more mature, Toaster's not as questionable as a leader, and I'm less judgmental and cowardly. And after some time in that reclusive cabin, I began to sum up all of the evidence as to where we stand; a family is a family no matter what.

Speaking of my 'family' and where my own place was at that time, I was just scatterbrained. How did I end up in such a spacey apartment, (at least that's what I assumed it was,) with a girl who's inexorable energy matched a human child's? I desperately needed to speak to a friend I knew, or at least someone who appeared to have more sense than this jumpy girl!

Suddenly, the smiling girl met nose to nose with me. Her long, golden brown hair flowed gently down her back and her big grey eyes flashed gaily at me. "Oh my gravy! Oh my gravy!" She squealed and hopped over my shrunk form on the lobby's lime green coach. "My gravy for Mother's biscuits! And the hot cocoa!"

"I'm assuming…" My eyes scanned the disorganized disarray of sticking silverware, china, paper plates, coffee cups, and saucers all rounded around a huge server of gravy and coffee maker and stained microwave. "…you work? Here? At this apartment?" The city dump looked more relaxing than this place; the desks held piles of laundry and paperwork, stains on the rugs were practically visible and tangible, a stench similar to raw onions and outdated cheddar cheese filled my nostrils- What?!

My mind swarmed at the discovery unreached, and I shakily reached for the grey-eyed woman humming peacefully while stirring her batch of biscuit dough. "Do you-you have a mirror?"

"Sir, if you would wait a moment…I shall reach up to either rooms E1008 or K125 for the closest handheld mirror reserved-"

"How do you me- Oh never mind! I'll get it myself!" In frustration, I glanced at what appeared to be her employment uniform. For an employee, she looked rather young. Half of her hair was tied in a thin string of a messy bun and her blue overalls reached the tips of her toes. A large white t-shirt settled underneath her overalls, and a clipped tag read 'Hazel' on her right breast pocket. I had never been an expert on human services and have only visited one human apartment once with the master about four years ago, but I remembered the employees and their shiny black shoes. This girl didn't even wear socks.

"Can I get you a drink sir? Sir?" I ignored Hazel and gazed into the glassy doors of the active….the name slipped my tongue…elevator, that's what it was! But what I beheld made the muscles of my limbs go limp. A man with wild blonde hair, amber eyes, and porcelain skin stared back at me in complete horror, and the hands- my hands shook until I blacked out.

Radio's P.O.V.

You know, I shall make an amendment to my parodies of horror because I'm living the horror as I described to you how we were found. Our master paled before the mistress, and a part of me wished to zap back into the annoying radio three decades old. Come to think of it, I felt more alive before my fellow Americans than I've ever felt since Kirby told me my real age. As we all piled into master's jeep, I gazed intently and thoughtfully at three out of four of my pals.

Kirby, who was an old grump before he got to our friendly sides, looked as young as Blanky. They were both frowning and solemnly fixing the blame on me. Only during the ride, Kirby was the blamer through his glares sent in my direction, and Blanky was the blamer while shaking his head and staring at Toaster. Toaster looked around our young ages, too. She snored and tossed occasionally in a troubled sleep, and guilt rested on my small shoulders.

I really didn't mean for any of us to get hurt just by getting up. What was the full plan anyway, wait for Mr. Two-timing-peg-leg to save our chords and switches and minds for another round of voodoo? How was I supposed to know how Toaster was going to react to the master and mistress? I knew we all we're clueless as to what our new forms had in store for us. And you know what? I had an perturbing itch on my back on the whole ride!

Our master pulled up to our cabin's driveway and helped Lauren support Toaster. The mistress, scowling, followed them with the master's other friend, and I sticked to the two old slow pokes.

Hazel's P.O.V.

"Hazel! I'm home!"

How convenient, as first customer is a first man to hide before your mother skips on home. As I heard her quick legs dart up the stairs, ( mother never ever took the elevator,) I dragged the heavy guy in the lobby's janitor closet and was forced to kick his sticking left leg back into the closet.

As I was praying he had enough oxygen throughout his state, Mother entered briskly into the lobby with his nose high in the air. "Oh darling!-" She sniffed the air with a deep frown, and my back touched the janitor's closet. "Someone forgot to use her perfume bottle. And dear, the date with Jeff went wonderful. Now I must take a nap now, and I expect coffee with no sugar."

"Got it Mom! That's swell, Mom! Have a fantabulous nap, Mom!" Once her heel clicking was entirely out of my earshot, I opened the closest for the unconscious stranger. "Guess that trip will have to wait. Well at least she's out of my hair for the moment!"

**I hope that answers at least some questions, and I'll try to update more when I can!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Thank you all for tuning in! I've had a few moments of inspiration for this, and I figured why not combine some of them in this chapter for kicks? Anyway, I apologize if any of the content in this fanfic is offensive to any viewers. Thanks.**

At Rob and Chris' cabin

Rob's P.O.V.

Yes, I've been considered a huge jerk in the past. My mother never let me down with her stubborn sock rules, and my teachers were either chuckling or frowning sourly at my naivety to the old-fashioned oar discipline routine. Yet, nothing could've prepared me for what Chris had to say.

I messed up, big time. It wasn't my plan to leave Chris and Lauren. We just were separated by chance! Once they left to who-knows-where, I was left to deal with Alan's sudden dilemma about late-night classes.

We had no time at all. The doors opened for students at nine and it was thirty minutes, and he was my best friend. So after five minutes or so on arguing, I found myself jammed into a taxi with the fret monster and left to pay the driver. Of course, I wasn't going to stay mad at him like this forever. But sometimes, I just wish there was somebody who didn't rush into things at the last few minutes and then listen to my opinions out of options.

Chris listens, but after a while, it just seems like she listens like everybody else is. She occasionally appears nonchalant and not a hundred percent committed like I'd want someone to be. Maybe I'm being a little too selfish, but there's definitely something worth sensing. I don't want to end my relationship with Chris, yet I realized that taking up for myself was going to require more than just mental thinking.

Looking at my Mickey Mouse watch and scowling at the short hand pointing to the number four, I groggily groaned and slouched in exhaustion. Classes were generally around seven in the morning, and it was a forty-five minute ride to my school. What a man does for his best friend can be an incredible task!

Where was I as the pile of thoughts rummaged through my mind? Well sooner or later after handling Alan's ride, I found the girls with three young men and one young woman who were supposedly unidentified. Heck, not one of them has given a name, and the girl passed out before I had the time to speak with her.

So I did the most genuine action I could do and managed to get my jeep in for a spin home. As we all piled silently into the jeep, rode home, and assisted our new guests, I couldn't help but feel like I was supposed to be looking at these strangers in a different light. You would guess I feared we had a team of four mentally insane patients or serial killers out loose, but this was a stranger and more unspecified feeling. It was the kind of feeling I've learned to loath for never giving me answers. And once the girl woke up, I figured she wouldn't mind briefly giving me an explanation. Her friends were wordless anyway, and I didn't want to make anyone feel any more uncomfortable than they had already felt.

But then again, why I felt more comfortable asking her instead of the guys was just another question left unanswered.

Toaster's P.O.V.

A warm scent soothed my senses as I rose from the plush couch I rested on. It almost smelled like home. It almost made me consider the whole bargaining mess with a toad and a spell a big fat stupid dream. Grinning, I expected Radio to wake us up early with weather reports, Lampy to complain endlessly, and Kirby and Blanky to snore in harmony.

Yet, my brain registered the mysterious devices called human hands and feet, and I sighed disappointedly. The warm scent I smelled came from a burning candle in what I knew was my master and mistress' guest bedroom. I was covered in cotton blankets from chest to toes, and a huge navy pillow supported my aching neck and head.

I appreciated everybody's kindness, but the only thoughts of concern I had at the point were directed towards my friends' fate. How long were we going to stay humans? What has happened to our original forms? Were they thrown out? Oh dear no! I'd throw myself to be crushed again before facing that kind of fate. However, if our forms weren't disposed of, and this stage was temporal, was it even possible for our lives to return safely back to the way they were?

The idea of peace was as unbelievable as searching for our master again. At the end of the day, I was done with fate in peace. Hopefully, I wasn't finished with hoping on hope itself. And if I could just rise off this couch without being noticed…

I whimpered foolishly as pain swept through both of my feet. As a toaster, I only grew associated with the feeling of pain from watching pain. The human feet were the easiest to connect feet with for me, since I've seen many cartoons of characters injuring their feet.

The pain I felt was the closest example I've ever gotten, and something red trickled from the tiny sprouts* of my feet. Instantly, another person gently wiped the red substance off of the sprouts with a damp cloth. Squinting in the dim room, I recognized the familiar red fuzz of hair from the smiling boy I grew up with.

"Nasty fall that no person should make," Rob whispered, giving me a glass of a clear liquid. "Drink this if you would. You know, we found you and your friends in quite a situation. I just want to apologize for the whole jumble! You probably think I'm- well -" He ran his hands through his hair, glancing guilelessly at me.

"You probably believe me to be some big-headed boyfriend but uh –"

"No, no." The words left my mouth before registering with my temper. It bugged me that he was taking me as some stranger, which I understand was the problem right now. He didn't know and could never comprehend I knew his life story. I didn't need the gentle free way of contact and mannerisms. But as long as I stayed in this form, I feared that flushing cheeks and apologies were what I was receiving from one of my greatest friends and only wonderful master.

"I knew someone once who took everything he did as a failure." Okay, I was stretching the truth, and one of my virtues was free honesty. But truthfully, the world didn't ask for honesty in forms, regardless if this 'someone' was my past master and not some friend I knew or something. "He was very important to me and I pitied his look on everything. Sadly, my attaching nature kind of took a toll on how I really should've viewed him."

Rob's vivid blue eyes grew twice their original size. "Did he abuse you?"

My mind's eye turned grimly and betrayed me all of a sudden, and I felt my face fell. "No…he just…wasn't that verbally careful." Thank goodness that master was a wordy librarian and gave me the inspiration to read human writing.

"Then I respect that you'd take up on something that sensitive. My girlfriend would never-" He stopped in midsentence before rising from his spot and turning to the doorway. "Speaking of my girlfriend, I better check on her and head on. If you or your friends need anything, don't hesitate to call. Alright?"

"Yes Mas-" I slapped my mouth shut as he exited the room. It took more than one mind to point out a well-rounded try of mistakes, and I hoped my friends would be as cautious as I tried to be with my words.

Lying back down, I decided it was safe to reserve plans until the groups hustled for more of the plan. We still needed to find Lampy if we were going to head back to Plan A. For now, I just had to find out for myself what exactly Plan A was.

Apparently, my mind wasn't going to give me a rest, and the trail of nightmares began when I shut my eyes tiredly.

Back to Frank and Jeff…

"Your spirits had failed me," Jeff snapped, clutching Paddy's voodoo doll. "And do you honestly trust to believe this wretched thing?!"

"Put the nice doll down and act civilized." Frank's sinister grin widened as black smoke surrounded him quickly. "We mustn't disturb the appliance's lovely dreams. I'll be back soon. And I ask you to send more spirits tonight. It seems more persistence is in order for our devices…."

***When Toaster thinks of the 'sprouts on her feet', she's talking about her human toes. I know this sounds strange, but I assumed that she would have only a minimum amount of knowledge on the human body structure and what humans know. Tell me what you think, faithful viewers!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kirby's P.O.V.

Something shivered by my left side, curled up in a little ball like a puppy, and snored terribly. I began to regret my submission to the yellow-haired human woman's pleas. I should've known Blanky was going to be such a bothering bed sharer, even when were now in human bodies.

"If we're going to share this tiny, tiny bed like civilized um - creatures, then you've got to stop squirming!"

Fuzz filled my mouth, hair fuzz. Blanky peeked out of the wooly blankets like a child. It still amazed me how he still held that guileless look in his beady eyes.

"I sure hope Toaster and Lampy are okay, Kirby. I thought I heard thunder."

"That was me sorry," Radio apologized from his spot in the master's camping sleeping bag. Holes were visible in the blankets, but I knew by now that Radio was a fairly flexible appliance and now human. "Lampy's probably out with more bright ideas than we would think. I do know what street smarts can do to an appliance."

I suppose his confident tone should've made me feel better, yet I was back to being furious. "Street smarts? Lampy is a human first off, and now he's out in the middle of nowhere!" Blanky shivered again as I groaned sonorously. "Toaster better get up soon. She's probably the only sane appliance left out of us!"

"A nap is nothing to a defender of any suicidal attempts!"

"For the last time she did not commit suicide"

"GUYS!" The small human man leapt from his post beside me and rushed to the source of a sudden shriek. We eventually found Blanky gripping the wrist of Toaster; she was sleep-talking insanely. My face and hopes then went pale.

"Can you make anything out Radio," Blanky whispered, trying to shake the whimpering girl awake from her nightmares.

"Some nap," I muttered crankily. "I hope this joint has more oil for a post vacuum's anxiety swing!"

Unknown fury appeared to have crawled up to the Blanky as he glared gleaming knives at me. "Just shut it for one second, Kirby!"

Before I even had a second to whip my head at him, I caught the look in Toaster's eyes, and it spelled our fate.

Any hopes for us fell in that gaze, and somehow, I think I knew it was coming all along.

Toaster's dream, twenty minutes ago

Appliances like Toaster just never seemed to get a hold on the concept of lucid dreaming. Toaster did know her mistress was a lucid dreamer, when she phoned her master about the dream she knew was a dream about the skies turning purple. But, it was almost impossible for many appliances to dream, let alone dream dreams they knew were fictional.

So when Toaster took her brief nap, trouble found her again without the mercy of the dream being lucid. No maddening clowns dressed as firefighters were in this dream, but she ended up crashing into a science lab. Broken or stained graduated cylinders, test tubes, and measuring cups littered the countertops and floors. Lucky for Toaster, she dreamt she was an appliance again and only had to hop over such dangerous shards of glass.

"We've been thinking about your adventures and your risks, my dear daily toaster." The silhouette of a tall, thin, and cloaked man shimmered before her until she was able to get a good look into his devious copper eyes.

"We theorized you'd return back to safe keeping and our agreement," a sultry voice tantalized. A curvier form of a dark-haired woman leaned against the counter to Toaster, scrunching her nose playfully at the man. "Are you the leader of the pack, dear girl, or should I even beckon you with the honorable title as our client?"

"Behave with courtesy Ginger!" One last silhouette materialized before Toaster, a man with fiery red hair and the greenest pair of eyes she had ever imagined.

"We mustn't frighten her off! Her valuable time must be used suavely, fellow companions." The man grinned urbanely at her. "How do you do? You may call me Frank, just as every client and soul I know has beforehand and presently." His pale, crinkled hands brushed the angled chin of the busty woman. "This is my love, love sister Ginger. She doesn't bite -"

"- And I'm Jeffery, otherwise known as Jeff," the other man interrupted with a scoff, loosing his patience. "Franklin, we have lives, too you know."

"I don't mean to cause such a stir," Toaster peeped quietly. There was an unnamed, quirky trait about this crew that she didn't trust or like one bit. For one, they were staring at the toaster machine like they owned her. Her own skin - metal felt foreign against their penetrating eyes, as she wasn't herself anymore.

"Yes, yes." With a crack of his neck and knuckles, violet dust sprinkled in his palms, and some of it fell on Toaster's face and the destroyed flasks around them. As she coughed wildly, the flasks and shards transformed into silhouettes of her friends and their appliance bodies.

"Paddy has been worried sick about you all," Jeff mocked, leaving the appliance with a rising temper and scarred with anger.

"You're the ones who dropped us in this heap!"

"And the smart-mouthed brat made of bolts has FINALLY earned a ray of light in her kitchen raised by morons!" The woman, Ginger, tipped Toaster over into a trash bin, but the clever appliance held herself up with a swing of her chord and a grip on the rim of the bin.

Not bothering to face the dangling appliance, Frank picked up a stuffed voodoo doll with red hair and drawn glasses around his baby blue eyes. Toaster gasped; she knew that face anywhere.

"Master -"

"If you won't come to our agreement, then I will show you the pains of the represented." Throwing the doll carelessly into Jeff's arms, Frank clapped his hands four times, and Toaster was magically levitated.

"What is this?" Ginger grabbed her and threw her high into the air. "NO!  
PLEASE! WAIT! WHO -"

"We're your worst nightmares," Jeff answered indignantly. "It has come to our attention that our deal must have its time limit, for one of your friends has now infected the thinking of our members!"

Toaster blinked in confusion. "But that would only be -" The cold truth pressed harder on her mind than Ginger's palms. "Lampy…. but who -"

"If you do not give into our demands of having your appliances under our control," Frank continued swiftly. "Then this, I'm afraid, must come to an end." His fingers flickered tensely, and the forms of Toaster's friends shriveled further and further… until ashes dirtied the floors and the shards of broken glass.

No, no…Toaster shut her eyes tight in denial. "No way," she moaned. "Not again…"

"And we're happy to have realized what you've done to your little friends," Jeff spat sardonically. "Was it fun seeing a device's dissection? Seeing your blanket pal go mad? Seeing the avoidance of your so-called-master?"

Roots wrapped around Toaster's neck, took their snake-like dance from the top of Toaster's head. It wasn't until Ginger released her grip on her that Toaster realized the substance choking her was her own set of unwanted human hair.

"STOP! RELEASE US!" If this were anything but a dream, Toaster would've sobbed at the knees of the merciless witch doctor. Again, dreams were as merciless and hateful towards her as her own rivals.

"Oh then…" Frank gave his first charismatic smile to the trembling brunette. "Wake up and then, my dear. You have two days till our next friendly chat."

As the terror of her dream came to a blissful close, warmth came to her shoulders. The warmth, she realized, came from the crying man who was attempting weakly to shake her awake.

Hazel's P.O.V.

If I would faint, it would be somewhere so unfamiliar to me the air was almost intoxicating. Fainting in your own home served no justice, at least not to me. My home was my prison, a prison to keep my lonely mother jovial and less bipolar. Okay, so no doctor I heard has ever diagnosed the middle-aged woman as bipolar, and my mother isn't lonely. (Monthly visits from her creepy boyfriend have proven that very well, thank you very much. And yes, they are very happily together.) But what made her unhealthy to me weren't my own suspicions because I saw the insanity each and every day I had to drag myself up to face; she was clingy.

Indeed, if keeping your only daughter to yourself wasn't enough, my mother barely ever spoke with me or showed any affectionate words or actions like 'normal' mothers do. (The hotel's employee closets are stocked with those psychology and family magazines. Their dates are iffy to work with, but a grown girl like me has to work with whatever she's got.)

Back to fainting, the man who fainted was the next token away to my mother's rage. Never was she abusive or a potty-mouth, but it was just plain annoying to deal with. So without any second thoughts, I shoved that heavy, heavy man into the closest employee closest. When I was about to slam the door shut, something devastating caught my eye.

I never would've tried to bruise this man or scar him, but that scar on his wrist gave me a rush of the purest guilt.

Then, I heard my mother yell for me, and I finally shut the door.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Writer's block kills! Well, I'm back anyway and here's the next chapter! To prevent confusion, I'm going to go ahead and tell you that the character AC in this story is from the first Brave Little Toaster. I can't say anymore because that would spoil the first film. Thanks!**

Later that evening…

After she woke up from her nightmare, Toaster told them every detail of it. As enthusiastic as she was, none of Toaster's friends believed her dream to be a harbinger of their outcome. Radio simply diagnosed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (even though she was enough of an up-to-date appliance in her heart to know that Radio knew nothing about human disorders.) Kirby did something similar. He assumed she missed her original state and was so tangled up with the threats on the line. And Blanky… he stayed keen to the discussion and nodded quietly.

Toaster truly did want to be ever grateful for their recommendations, but all she wanted was to get the group back in the kitchen without human feet. It was obviously easier said than done, of course, but it was better to open a door than to shut out the chance they all had in their own comfort zone!

That is why when the Mistress was stirring a steamy pot of stew and making small talk with Lauren, Toaster hopped out of the comfy bed and crept with wobbly feet across the hallway. Maroon paisley carpets laid underneath the twitching brunette's feet, and the complicated pattern sewn in its stitches made Toaster's wobbling even more prominent.

Clutching her head and grabbing a lock of her hair, Toaster swayed quietly to the garage. If her memory was not betraying her, then Toaster swore the dim garage would lead to the back door. And once she was out of the house, then finding the enemy would be easier then.

Only, Toaster was still as humble as ever about her plan. It was truthfully plan B recently until she realized none of her friends took her dream seriously. There were several flaws; she just couldn't bring herself to list them all when in the core of the plan itself. But one flaw stood out; she was on her own, barely able to walk.

Rob and Chris' garage used to be as humid as a sauna, so Rob removed the door off its hinges. That made it a whole lot easier for Toaster while sneaking off, since all she had to do was simply walk in and deal with the back door. Unfortunately for Toaster, easiness in anything was rare for her in most situations.

"Ah!" Landing on her bottom, Toaster slapped both hands around her mouth as she yelped. Just as she did, however, her elbows made contact with the shovels stacked in two stacks by the entrance. Her feet reacted with a weak tremble, and bruises seemed to mark her carelessness.

"Well how lousy can any of this get?" Just as she propped herself back up in her stance, Toaster's brown eyes darkened in pity at the object by her. A flimsy gray cord stuck out near the entrance. Following it, Toaster looked back to see if anyone was watching her and fortunately found no soul or shuffling of feet. Being the curious girl- or appliance she was, Toaster continued following the cord until its end was detectable under a cloud of dust and something with rectangular holes. Bringing the dusty object closer to her, Toaster was under a coughing fit. Regaining her breath, she squinted stubbornly at the object.

She should've gone to the back door before she could not afford wasting another second, but memories flooded Toaster's mind. It was as if she should have known-

Her eyes dilated, and her ears could almost listen to the sarcasm dripping from the voice of a laidback loner, a loner she once knew all too well.

"_It's a conspiracy, and all of you are a part of it!"_

A.C.'s cord was the cord she followed. The vent in her hands, her pale human hands held the vent A.C. had. He would never leave, and the guilt was following her with another one of her mess-ups.

"It's almost like I miss him."

Toaster jumped and turned to Blanky, who was watching her, predictably, from the garage's entrance. "Don't get me wrong. He was alright to be in the presence of, but even Kirby knew better than to question the Master's actions."

Toaster's tongue met the ceiling of her mouth as she fought to say something, anything, to someone as genuine and naïve as Blanky in a time of cunningness.

"Well…you know…. he has been around long enough. I do trust the Master and all." Another breath was subsequent and then, "I know you think something like this will hold me up, but it won't. I'll be right back."

She expected Blanky to nod his little blonde head and eagerly tell the others, but his eyes only remained on her and his feet never even shuffled. "So it's you who's gotta solve everything? You can't do everything and you'll need backup!"

"But what then," Toaster challenged. Feeling like the mother who was scolding her son, she chided, "I already asked Radio, Lampy, and Kirby. You heard their answers."

"You know that." Blanky walked slowly up to his best friend, fiddling with his thumbs. "I know that." Gaining a brave streak, his icy blue eyes met her earth brown ones. "All I want is to come with you. But you and I both know I'm weak and cowardly."

It took the curling of her feet and the pursing of her lips to restrain a snap. Why he was being so terribly modest and ashamed was a problem she did care about, but why did he have to present it now? "Please Blanky. Not now. Getting Lampy is the next step, but I just need more clues."

"Then when? I'm not going to end up like A.C., okay? And Lampy's okay for a day, right?"

She knew he didn't mean to sound so boastful, but something in Toaster finally did snap. And with one swing of her arm, the vent and the cord were out of her reach and his. "What's that supposed to mean? Hmm? That you with every other appliance and even human thinks I'm too fragile?"

If the Toaster were in a brighter room, Blanky's entire face would now be as bright red in her eyes as Radio once was. "You know that's not what I meant," he sniffed. "I just know no one needs another loss, and I can promise you if I go I won't be one."

"Well then don't wait up," Toaster replied coldly. Her face was now obscure with rage. But before she could turn around, Blanky tapped her shoulder and faced her dead on with an even madder look.

"Now you're saying _I'm_ just too fragile."

It was too late to reel in the bait; her best friend was now drifting from her watch. "No, not at all! I just can't afford-"

"- Another loss," Blanky finished cynically, wiping his itchy nose with his left front sleeve.

"Hold on I-"

"Dinner's ready, lovebirds!" Lauren's melodic voice echoed from the hallway and her tapping shoes brushed the carpet. As her shadow disappeared back to the kitchen, Toaster and Blanky exchanged a cautious glance.

"Now I can't head on," Toaster concluded, sending Blanky warning glares that held irritation. "And listen. You can't do this when I try again tomorrow, and the next day… "

"And the next day until you find out the case was unwritten," Blanky mumbled, heading to the kitchen. "We better get to the table, Toaster."

"But you'll take in what we've said, right?"

"What choice do I have?" For a slice of a moment, Toaster recognized the childish personality of her best friend in his icy blue eyes. He was drifting further off until he no longer seemed any younger than the rest of the troop.

As Toaster thought of this, she heard a low conversation start from behind the dining room's thin walls. A handful of the words exchanged put Toaster to a halt. Her cheeks reddened and her heartbeat quickened. Those words felt like the suicide she composed long ago.

"Rob, I need space… without you."

At the motel…

Jeff sipped his sidecar cocktail while watching the steady stream of taxis and hurrying pedestrians flow by. It was ten minutes past seven at night, and workers were desperate to get back home after their eight to ten hour shifts. Who had the time to lounge at a motel in a city where work spelled out its foundation?

Exactly; that's why his girl was sly enough to grab the dump. That's why little miss sunshine didn't attend school. The more isolation, the better it was for their crew. A ship in a harbor of questions was not the ship Voodoo devoured, and money was sparse.

But aside from the choices they've made, Jeff tried to ease out of his part office part Voodoo career and swim a few laps in his girlfriend's motel pool. He was aware Hazel couldn't swim and was never completely comfortable around him, and this served as the perfect token of time to spend with his Ginger.

"I'm not swimming this time," Ginger teased from behind him, folding her hands in a firm lock. "But I can ask Hazel to fetch you a towel and then maybe we can hit the town. I called for her earlier-"

Jeff feigned a concerned gasp for the blonde and wheezed, "not the town!"

"Oh yes," Ginger purred, bending her head down to his level and stealing a kiss. "Hazel's growing less dependent on her momsy anyway. A little space does some good."

"As does fresh air," a third voice joined in. The couple casted their gaze on the limping man in overalls and a bright green turtleneck. Paddy had been with Frank all along up until he had to run a few 'errands' that night. (Frank's favorite word to conceal shadow meetings was 'errands,' and his two attendants knew better than to interrupt his meetings with the spirits.) Even when the pair could not say no, they were screaming mentally for fly swatter Paddy to bathe in the nearest swamp and learn not to wear turtlenecks as a human on really sun- scorched days.

"What a fine pair of overalls," Ginger complimented with a sickly sweet smile. "My, it wasn't until I graduated when I released them from their cave."

Jeff knew when people were fiddling with common sense, especially Ginger. Glancing amusedly at his girlfriend, Jeff tugged his own goatee and nodded. "Yes, Paddy. Those overalls deserve sunshine. It's good of you to recognize the courteous efforts sunbathed overalls have on us. Did Frank teach you this? Remarkable teacher, is he not?"

Paddy licked the corners of his mouth, baffled by the amount of questions he had just received. He was aching for Frank to return with the news of his given life. How nice a life sounded, along with a bowl of maggots and flies on the side…

"Paddy? Are you still with us?"

The frog man blinked repeatedly before hearing Ginger and snapping out of his daydream. "Y- yes ma'am. And yes, Jefferson, Franklin is a good teacher. He even told me that I got the skill of human hopping."

"You mean 'walking,' dear Paddy." Ginger might as well show some sympathy towards the hopper and correct him for his mistake.

"Why, yes!" Before Paddy could continue his conversation chirp by chirp, croak by croak, Ginger's ears perked to the sound of deep, unfamiliar coughs. She flipped her dark hair out of her face as she dashed back into the motel.

"Ginger," Jeff called questionably from the pool. No one said anytihng about babysitting the fly swatter alone! "Ginger!" Defeated and left with the frog at last, Jeff ran his tongue across his teeth and smiled as amiably as he could at the pitiful human. "Paddy, old pal. Just when shall we expect seeing Frank again?"

"Franklin? Oh well you see, he left me in charge of carrying out the orders until he sought out those-" His nose twitched angrily. "T- those appliances. So now it's a day, week, or month until he comes back! I can learn from you and Georgette! Maybe some flies… a lesson or two. You can even take me to my homeland river! Isn't this all so great?"

Jeff's smile couldn't have felt any more stretched. "Yes… how fun."


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note

**I am back after about three months! Huzzah! I know you all have been waiting for ages for me to finally sit up and type another chapter. But before anyone tries to stab me, let me apologize for being one of the biggest procrastinators ever and finally answer your questions and concerns from the top: (I apologize if I happen to misspell your pen names and/or not fully answer your question(s) and/or concern(s).) I really, really hope this helps!**

**Insertcreativepennamehereplz: We went over concerns after I wrote chapter nine. But if you have any other questions, feel free to politely inform me. I'll do my best to answer them.**

**As for Paddy's spell, that was completely random. Sorry, I'm horrible with riddles, and I decided that making the spell simple and straightforward would save some time. (Additionally, I'm portraying Paddy as a pretty dumb character. No offense to any frog or toad owners.)**

**ww38: Yeah, I know. The clown wasn't exactly a 'childish phobia'. But see, here's the thing; I want Toaster's character to become even more complex as the story progresses. In the movie, Toaster seems like many main protagonists- brave when wanting to be brave. So the clown, for instance, is something he or she's trying to push out of his or her life, learn from, and treat as nothing. From what I see, Toaster is a brave leader because he or she chose to take the job for his or herself and friends, not because he or she can let go of fears like that creepy clown in an instant.**

**Honestly, I don't know how old Radio is. That 'three decades old' part in chapter six is completely random because as appliances, I figured time wouldn't register with them as much as it would humans, and Radio, a guessing and talkative radio, would be no exception! So because this is FanFiction, I'm not putting specific ages out there. I'm sorry, but I don't want any of you guys to be thrown off with any age I give a character like Toaster, for instance, and confuse you with the age I have and the suppositional age limit derived from the movie. But, each appliance is now a teen, with Kirby as the oldest and Blanky as the youngest. If you want any more details about ages, I will give them out. Thank you for bringing my attention to that.**

**I did not think about Radio's facial features that much when writing the story, but yes. Originally, I planned on having Radio having a human face as a human with the other appliances-to-humans. You are very detail-oriented.**

**Drama Sapphire: I wasn't planning on putting in a Toaster x Lampy pairing. But now that I'm thinking about it… You all will just have to wait and see!;)**

**Autogirl 91: Yes, Radio eventually told Chris and Lauren before chapter six about them being appliances. But honestly, would they believe him? You'll have to find out and see.**

**Lampy is currently at the motel Hazel is forced to remain in by her own mother, Ginger. He was unconscious before, but other than that, he's safe in a closet.**

**Each of the five appliances is a teen. Oh, and Blanky's feeling will be revealed later. Sorry, but I hate to spoil stories!**

**As for the villains' plan, Frank clearly knows Paddy is incapable of defying him, hence why he just threatened him in chapter four about deadlines instead of sending him to capture them. He does want the iron and appliance bodies from our five heroes, but he fibs about helping Paddy out entirely. His true intentions with the elixir will be revealed here.**

**Rob and Chris are just in their way and bait for the appliances, especially Toaster, since they clearly smell the appliances' harbored concerns for them. The three are just that creepily clever! Later, I'll do my best at giving more emphasis to Frank, Ginger, Jeff, and possibly Hazel.**

**I know Rob is kind of acting like a jerk, but he'll grow a bigger heart soon!**

**PMD-Rokon: There are going to be couples soon, and I'll consider adding Lampy x Toaster moments or something.**

******I believe I covered all unanswered questions and concerns. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thank you all very much for being so patient and kind! **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

Chris' P.O.V.

I don't know what went wrong, but I had to end the ceremony before it collided with another.

Okay, bad analogy, I'm aware of that. But after checking on our two strange teenage guests and their questionably sane friend I found alone and abandoned with Lauren, my patience was very slim by the time I grabbed handfuls of silverware and joined Rob at the dining room table. He had that stupid pensive look on his face boyfriends should never ever have to wear, and his eyes were drifting around the room.

"Where's everybody?" His fingers drummed the table, and I easily grew tense. He quickly saw this and stuffed both of his hands in his jean pockets.

"What's the matter, Chris?" Rob flashed me a considerate grin and sighed. "I know there's so many people in the cabin now, but we've got to start thinking brightly." The corners of his big blue eyes sprouted fresh tears, and I gulped. Was he reading my mind or something? Did that two-timing backstabber-of-a-friend spill the beans about her true feelings?

"Now you can feel free without those appliances." He truly looked pitiful, like a first grader in my eyes as he mumbled, "they're gone, all…the toaster…"

I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I exhaled loudly and shivered from either relief or disgust. I was a bit too inclined to start speaking now.

"Rob, I need space… without you."

My eyes darted from Rob's face to his trembling hands and searching, desperate for a reaction, a reaction I can relate to. Before we even settled in this cabin, I felt like Rob and I were destined to spill our own selves and feelings and secrets out to each other. Wasn't that how a couple under a roof functioned? I mean, it's been so long since we've even discussed marriage, but my cutesy Robbie must have some sort of idea about marriage, right? And if that were to happen, than I wouldn't want anything to be in-between us!

Once we settled in the cabin, however, Rob grew awfully distant. Sure, we went out, like we did with Alan and Lauren. But, there was no empowering secret or promise, no security. It was just I, second place in Rob's mind, while his collection of junk won first.

I simply had enough of it, and I wanted to know, really, deeply know and love, the man I lived with.

"There aren't any problems between us," Rob shakily whispered in protest, after a huge silence was shared. He still sounded like a child, no matter how much I tried to picture his geeky, smiling face he wore back when we first met.

Just then, Lauren zipped into the room, wearing navy blue sweatpants and a periwinkle tank top with a glittery pink apron around her. She had been working out, and I would never complain. It was the best way for her to release stress, and I know helping your best friend feed five strangers and staying connected during jobs is terribly stressful.

"Lobster's ready," she announced in a singsong voice. I kept my eyes on Rob's, watching them water and return back to his own little world….

I dashed out of the dining room just as Lauren was starting to place dishes on the table.

"What's eating you," she asked as I opened the front door and grabbed my car keys from my purse situated on top of the fridge.

"Out." I gave Rob another look and mumbled, "Out for an empty room."

Blanky's P.O.V.

Who knew human food was so hard to eat, and yet so delicious? The concept of eating- It's magnificent and funny! I had to duck my head under the table as Radio kept trying to eat what Mistress named 'mashed potatoes' without success.

I giggled and helped myself to what was called 'broccoli.' Poor Radio. I bet Master, Mistress, and her devoted friend believed he was crazy, babbling about five human teenagers being a toaster, a vacuum, a radio, a blanket, and a lamp. Now that I think about it, I bet Lampy's case isn't yet placed either. How would the humans believe he's real if he wasn't in near us when they found us?

I stole a glance at Toaster, who was to my left, and staring at the front door that was visible from my right. Seeing her glance at Rob, I finally got the picture, gulped, and asked for my friend.

"E-Excuse me, Lauren? Is that your name?"

The perky blonde-haired woman gestured she was still eating before swallowing and beaming at me from across the table. "Why yes, cutie pie. What can I do for you? Is that broccoli a little bit watery? I'm not the best in town, you know, but I can surely cook up more-"

"No, no, it's delicious!" I popped another veggie in my mouth to show her, chewed, and smiled back at her. "I'm just curious; where's Chris?"

"Fast learner with names, aren't yah?" She surveyed Rob with sadness appearing in her deep blue eyes as she muttered, "she's just gonna be gone for a while. Don't fret, though! I'm calling a day off tomorrow!"

This caught Rob's attention; he stopped sluggishly eating his meal and stared with a dropped jaw at Lauren.

"You what now?"

"You heard me," Lauren chirped as she turned to look at us admirably. "I can't help but feel so bubbly inside. There's something about you teens, something I can't place. And judging by how you got old Robbie to shut up, he feels the same way!"

Master didn't even agree or disagree. His eyes suddenly connected with Toaster's, widening, as if they had just encountered something so familiar and yet anything but. Beside me, my friend only stared back, writhing in her seat.

I don't know what happened, but before I could glance at my other two friends' reactions, my foot made contact with someone's knee.

"OW!" Kirby shuddered and glared at the three of us tagalong buddies. "Which one of you kicked my seat," he growled, forgetting we had hosts.

Luckily for us, Radio was to Kirby's right and whispered something in his ear. Whatever Radio had said, it comforted our stubborn friend enough to silence him until our meal was over.

As Lauren brought out what they referred to as 'dessert', coffee cake with a side of cinnamon sticks and vanilla frosting, I mouthed to Kirby, 'sorry,' and Toaster startled me with a nudge of her elbow. She carefully slid her folded napkin under my own, ignoring my quizzical look.

I opened the napkin and read the message she had managed to scribble with a borrowed pen:

_Meet me at the garage tonight. I've got a plan I want to try._

The note was passed around as Toaster excused herself and asked, "may I watch some T.V.?"

"You're welcome to any time," Rob responded. She nodded, right before she winked at me and walked as calmly as she could to the kitchen.

Deep down, I was questioning her so-called plan. What could she have gained from watching T.V.?

As my thoughts soon multiplied over different plans and different faces, I felt a hug foot jab at my knee and heard Kirby mutter slowly,

"Victory. Don't kick me again."

Toaster's P.O.V.

Why oh why must Master and Mistress leave me with a new T.V.? I missed old T.V. so terribly. Isn't that shallow? Now I'm forced to refer to T.V. as 'Old T.V.' because, apparently, there's a new set of commercial streamers in town who deserve recognition for being new, and I have to meet the arrogant television!

"Calm down," I hissed to myself. "It's over with. Just get down to business and consult with this-" My heartbeat, which had been drumming somehow in my ears since Rob stared at me so eagerly at dinner, was slowly down. I groaned, tempted to pull my mane of brown hair out. I cannot speak to the T.V. even if I wanted to! I'm a human, and now Lampy can't be sought! Stupid! Stupid!

My feet were tingling as anger pumped inside of me, and one of my feet made contact with a huge, yellow book. As I rolled into a tight ball and cupped my hurt foot into my hands, I took notice of the book, which was now opened to the G section. I scanned over the list of businesses, which neighbored their phone numbers, feeling a little overwhelmed. How I managed to seek some light from this book of lost names and numbers still surprises me today.

I was very ignorant. Okay, I'm still ignorant. But in my defense, no link to the outside world of humans could've saved me from drowning in only one word: lamp. That was that only word I could think of when searching for a clue, any clue, about where my now lost human friend could be.

There the word was; _**Lamp**__s and Lounging motel, Hardy Avenue…._

The address was a blob in my vision, as was all of the other places, addresses, and numbers in the book, as I whispered the number to myself. I continued whispering it over and over as I sauntered into the kitchen, grabbed the home phone, and dialed the number.

Hazel's P.O.V.

It's getting late. There are no more sunrays reaching the obscure windows, no more birds heard from outside. Now would be the perfect time to help my new friend, the perfect time to call an ambulance.

One small obstacle loomed before me; my mother's boyfriend, Jeff. Right after he and Mom started dating, she got a cold and had to sleep in bed for a whole week. That left me with a broad, humongous, mediocre motel to clean until she was better. Jeff didn't even help and only ordered me to call an ambulance. Of course, Mom wasn't going to have any of that. At the time there wasn't even a useful telephone to use! (For Mom burned every electronic device in sight with her eyes.) This angered Jeff so much that he just went off and bought one, and I did what I was told and called the ambulance.

Thankfully, I wasn't punished. The couple separated for two days before Jeff apologized and she hid the still-working telephone out of my sight. Never again was a working telephone used. Moreover, she probably hid it with Jeff, who I never really tried to befriend. Something about him just made me tense still.

So, that made him in the blocking position and me with only one idea: late night phone calling. Dangerous as it was, a girl needed a break from following the rules, a break from only having her mother and her creepy boyfriend as company. And again, the man in my closet couldn't stay there forever. I wasn't even sure if he had eaten a bite of food before he came here.

He needed rescuing, and so did I.

Twenty minutes of racing through bedrooms and closets and curtains and pantries later, I found it in a plain white closet decorated with sunflower stencils. "C floor," I whispered triumphantly to myself, just in case if any two eavesdroppers were around. "Perfect…"

I uncoiled the grey telephone cord and plugged it into the closest outlet. Pressing the receiver close to the right side of my face, and dialing the number I've always known, I closed my eyes and made a tiny wish.

"Please be open today-"

"Hello?" The voice was of a female's voice, and my breath hitched. "Hello?"

"Yes, I-I" I needed to sound afraid to make it seem believable. "-Please! There's an unconscious man in the closet!"

"Does he know who he is?"

I wiggled my nose. Maybe I had the wrong number? "Is this the ambulance?"

"Do you have Lampy?"

Now I was officially frustrated. "Who on Earth is Lampy?" Just then, a finger tapped my shoulder. "What?!" I screamed as the man from the closet snatched the receiver from me and cried,

"I'm Lampy! Yes, it's me! Oh Toaster, I thought I'd never hear your voice again!"

Ever since I was a mere kid, I thought that a friend was someone who wouldn't let you down. Well, I thought I earned my first friend, someone who wouldn't let me down by letting me have my first day out with him at the hospital. Okay, that didn't sound so great for him, but overall, my desire for freedom now met my new and reluctant desire for understanding strange people such as him.

Four words escaped my lips. "Damn, you're not bright!"


End file.
